Bonjour tout le monde!!
JOYEUX printemps et JOYEUX conférence générale :) (happy springtime and happy general conference!)
This week I got this postcard in the mail from my mom and now it's hanging on our wall because it's SO TRUE.
Friday night we found ourselves coming home from a rendezvous, walking to our usual bus stop when we walked by a small crowd of people surrounding an old lady on the ground. There were several people trying to help her, but it was clear nobody knew exactly how. She was breathing super heavily and unable to sit up. Though I have very little medical training, my pre-nursing student instincts and the little knowledge I do have took over. With 2 other people we helped get her coat off, cool her down, help her breath deeply and got her talking. She insisted on getting on her bus even though she clearly wasn't well..thankfully her bus also happened to be the bus Soeur Goreeba and I needed to take to get home. Another man who was helping came with us and we sat with her and then accompanied her off the bus at her stop. Almost immediately upon getting off the bus, she started to hyperventilate and fell again. We helped her to the ground, called the ambulance, stayed with her and comforted her until they arrived. Her name is Rosaline, she's Italian and she is 88 years old.
That night I was just feeling so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to be able to help this woman in a small little way. I want to be a nurse after my mission and it feels so natural for me to help people in this way. During General Conference I was struck by Elder Rasband's talk about being spiritual first responders. In this moment of helping someone physically suffering, I felt completely in my element. But how much more Incredible is it that for 18 months I am called to save those who are spiritually suffering? To align my will and efforts with those of the godhead in "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
The only real difference is, there are plenty of people on the street with limited first aid skills and a willingness to help a sick old lady. However, There are very few people in Lausanne, Switzerland who are dedicating all their time, faith, skills and love to seeking and saving the spiritually sick. The people are hyperventilating on the inside and have let their spirit fall to the ground. The ones who are spiritually lost and don't even know they need saving.
This is my real calling. Being a nurse and helping people heal physically may be my future occupation of choice (and I will love it), but the responsibility to heal people spiritually is much more needed in this world where so many people are broken down on the inside. There is a high demand and a low supply, and the only way to make it happen is through the little acts of faith and love we can do every single day. As missionaries, yes. But the call to lift the downtrodden and help spiritual is the call the goes to everyone in the whole world. It's God's work that He lets us to be a part of, and it's a work of love and not statistics.
In other news we've started teaching Jessica and her 2 sons, oscar and Gabriel this week and they are so cool. They're the ones that came to church all by themselves 2 weeks ago because her aunt shared the gospel with her. They're such a HUGE miracle and just evidence that God is preparing His children to discover the truths of the restored gospel all over the world. Just wanted to share that miracle, hopefully more updates to come on that next week :)
JE vous aime fort!!!!
Soeur Cami Goold
She lives in a gorgeous area...
We gave the "free hug" guy a free passalong card....
Soeur M from last week's email...
Mom asked if there were any references to the book, "Heidi" in Switzerland. I found this.
Us with Mary at General Conference....
Soeur Goreeba took this during one of our bedtime chats...
JOYEUX printemps et JOYEUX conférence générale :) (happy springtime and happy general conference!)
This week I got this postcard in the mail from my mom and now it's hanging on our wall because it's SO TRUE.
Switzerland is the place to be.
The sun is coming out, the trees are blossoming, the members are awesome, we're seeing miracles all over the place, Soeur Goreeba is the best companion in the whole world and all our Amis are doing well. I won't pretend that it's all sun and roses because that's just not the way life works, but none of the bad things seem worth mentioning this week.
Friday night we found ourselves coming home from a rendezvous, walking to our usual bus stop when we walked by a small crowd of people surrounding an old lady on the ground. There were several people trying to help her, but it was clear nobody knew exactly how. She was breathing super heavily and unable to sit up. Though I have very little medical training, my pre-nursing student instincts and the little knowledge I do have took over. With 2 other people we helped get her coat off, cool her down, help her breath deeply and got her talking. She insisted on getting on her bus even though she clearly wasn't well..thankfully her bus also happened to be the bus Soeur Goreeba and I needed to take to get home. Another man who was helping came with us and we sat with her and then accompanied her off the bus at her stop. Almost immediately upon getting off the bus, she started to hyperventilate and fell again. We helped her to the ground, called the ambulance, stayed with her and comforted her until they arrived. Her name is Rosaline, she's Italian and she is 88 years old.
That night I was just feeling so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to be able to help this woman in a small little way. I want to be a nurse after my mission and it feels so natural for me to help people in this way. During General Conference I was struck by Elder Rasband's talk about being spiritual first responders. In this moment of helping someone physically suffering, I felt completely in my element. But how much more Incredible is it that for 18 months I am called to save those who are spiritually suffering? To align my will and efforts with those of the godhead in "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
This is my real calling. Being a nurse and helping people heal physically may be my future occupation of choice (and I will love it), but the responsibility to heal people spiritually is much more needed in this world where so many people are broken down on the inside. There is a high demand and a low supply, and the only way to make it happen is through the little acts of faith and love we can do every single day. As missionaries, yes. But the call to lift the downtrodden and help spiritual is the call the goes to everyone in the whole world. It's God's work that He lets us to be a part of, and it's a work of love and not statistics.
In other news we've started teaching Jessica and her 2 sons, oscar and Gabriel this week and they are so cool. They're the ones that came to church all by themselves 2 weeks ago because her aunt shared the gospel with her. They're such a HUGE miracle and just evidence that God is preparing His children to discover the truths of the restored gospel all over the world. Just wanted to share that miracle, hopefully more updates to come on that next week :)
JE vous aime fort!!!!
Soeur Cami Goold
Here are some more pictures from the week:
She lives in a gorgeous area...
We gave the "free hug" guy a free passalong card....
Soeur M from last week's email...
Mom asked if there were any references to the book, "Heidi" in Switzerland. I found this.
Us with Mary at General Conference....
Soeur Goreeba took this during one of our bedtime chats...
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